Inherited product activation for virtual machines

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems are disclosed in which inherited activation opens a secure communication path from the host operating system (OS) to the guest (virtual machine) OS. The license state of the software on the host is passed through this channel, and software installed in the guest uses this information to inform its own product activation process. The virtualized (guest) software may then activate without any outside communication when the license requirements for the host are met.

BACKGROUND

Virtualization enables the creation of a fully configured computerentirely out of software. For example, when a guest computer system isemulated on a host computer system, the guest computer system is said tobe a “virtual machine” as the guest computer system exists in the hostcomputer system as a software representation of the operation of onespecific hardware architecture. Within a virtual machine, an operatingsystem may be installed just like it would be on physical hardware.

Virtual machines may use software applications that apply an activationmechanism. For example, some applications may apply a licensingmechanism that allows users to use the applications on one or morevirtual machines subject to certain terms and conditions. “Productactivation” in this context describes the act of satisfying thelicensing mechanism requirements, allowing use of the software. In avirtual machine context, unique challenges exist for applying softwareproduct activation mechanisms.

SUMMARY

Software antipiracy solutions often operate by binding the softwarelicense to the individual computer hardware by creating a hardware-basedID or thumbprint for the computer. Virtualization makes these solutionsunreliable since the hardware is virtualized. The thumbprint can beedited or duplicated, and thus can be exploited to bypass productactivation and copy or steal the software. Furthermore, typical servervirtualization scenarios move the virtual machine from one host toanother as needed. This legitimate use can can break software licensingsolutions that bind to a hardware thumbprint.

Methods and systems are disclosed herein in which an inheritedactivation mechanism opens a secure communication path from the hostoperating system (OS) to the guest OS. The license state of the softwareon the host is passed through this channel, and software installed inthe guest uses this information to inform its own product activationprocess. The virtualized software may then activate without any outsidecommunication when the license requirements for the host are met.

The foregoing is a summary and thus contains, by necessity,simplifications, generalizations and omissions of detail. Those skilledin the art will appreciate that the summary is illustrative only and isnot intended to be in any way limiting.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1 and 2 depict an example computer system wherein aspects of thepresent disclosure can be implemented.

FIG. 3 depicts an operational environment for practicing aspects of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 4 depicts an operational environment for practicing aspects of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates a computer system including circuitry foreffectuating remote desktop services.

FIG. 6 depicts an operational environment for practicing aspects of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 7 depicts an operational environment for practicing aspects of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 8 depicts an operational environment for practicing aspects of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example operational procedure for practicingaspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example operational procedure for practicingaspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example system and operational procedure forpracticing aspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Computing Environments in General Terms

Certain specific details are set forth in the following description andfigures to provide a thorough understanding of various embodiments ofthe invention. Certain well-known details often associated withcomputing and software technology are not set forth in the followingdisclosure to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the various embodiments ofthe invention. Further, those of ordinary skill in the relevant art willunderstand that they can practice other embodiments of the inventionwithout one or more of the details described below. Finally, whilevarious methods are described with reference to steps and sequences inthe following disclosure, the description as such is for providing aclear implementation of embodiments of the invention, and the steps andsequences of steps should not be taken as required to practice thisinvention.

It should be understood that the various techniques described herein maybe implemented in connection with hardware or software or, whereappropriate, with a combination of both. Thus, the methods and apparatusof the invention, or certain aspects or portions thereof, may take theform of program code (i.e., instructions) embodied in tangible media,such as floppy diskettes, CD-ROMs, hard drives, or any othermachine-readable storage medium wherein, when the program code is loadedinto and executed by a machine, such as a computer, the machine becomesan apparatus for practicing the invention. In the case of program codeexecution on programmable computers, the computing device generallyincludes a processor, a storage medium readable by the processor(including volatile and non-volatile memory and/or storage elements), atleast one input device, and at least one output device. One or moreprograms that may implement or utilize the processes described inconnection with the invention, e.g., through the use of an applicationprogramming interface (API), reusable controls, or the like. Suchprograms are preferably implemented in a high level procedural or objectoriented programming language to communicate with a computer system.However, the program(s) can be implemented in assembly or machinelanguage, if desired. In any case, the language may be a compiled orinterpreted language, and combined with hardware implementations.

A remote desktop system is a computer system that maintains applicationsthat can be remotely executed by client computer systems. Input isentered at a client computer system and transferred over a network(e.g., using protocols based on the International TelecommunicationsUnion (ITU) T.120 family of protocols such as Remote Desktop Protocol(RDP)) to an application on a terminal server. The application processesthe input as if the input were entered at the terminal server. Theapplication generates output in response to the received input and theoutput is transferred over the network to the client

Embodiments may execute on one or more computers. FIGS. 1 and 2 and thefollowing discussion are intended to provide a brief general descriptionof a suitable computing environment in which the disclosure may beimplemented. One skilled in the art can appreciate that computer systems200, 300 can have some or all of the components described with respectto computer 100 of FIGS. 1 and 2.

The term circuitry used throughout the disclosure can include hardwarecomponents such as hardware interrupt controllers, hard drives, networkadaptors, graphics processors, hardware based video/audio codecs, andthe firmware/software used to operate such hardware. The term circuitrycan also include microprocessors configured to perform function(s) byfirmware or by switches set in a certain way or one or more logicalprocessors, e.g., one or more cores of a multi-core general processingunit. The logical processor(s) in this example can be configured bysoftware instructions embodying logic operable to perform function(s)that are loaded from memory, e.g., RAM, ROM, firmware, and/or virtualmemory. In example embodiments where circuitry includes a combination ofhardware and software an implementer may write source code embodyinglogic that is subsequently compiled into machine readable code that canbe executed by a logical processor. Since one skilled in the art canappreciate that the state of the art has evolved to a point where thereis little difference between hardware, software, or a combination ofhardware/software, the selection of hardware versus software toeffectuate functions is merely a design choice. Thus, since one of skillin the art can appreciate that a software process can be transformedinto an equivalent hardware structure, and a hardware structure canitself be transformed into an equivalent software process, the selectionof a hardware implementation versus a software implementation is trivialand left to an implementer.

FIG. 1 depicts an example of a computing system which is configured towith aspects of the disclosure. The computing system can include acomputer 20 or the like, including a processing unit 21, a system memory22, and a system bus 23 that couples various system components includingthe system memory to the processing unit 21. The system bus 23 may beany of several types of bus structures including a memory bus or memorycontroller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety ofbus architectures. The system memory includes read only memory (ROM) 24and random access memory (RAM) 25. A basic input/output system 26(BIOS), containing the basic routines that help to transfer informationbetween elements within the computer 20, such as during start up, isstored in ROM 24. The computer 20 may further include a hard disk drive27 for reading from and writing to a hard disk, not shown, a magneticdisk drive 28 for reading from or writing to a removable magnetic disk29, and an optical disk drive 30 for reading from or writing to aremovable optical disk 31 such as a CD ROM or other optical media. Insome example embodiments, computer executable instructions embodyingaspects of the disclosure may be stored in ROM 24, hard disk (notshown), RAM 25, removable magnetic disk 29, optical disk 31, and/or acache of processing unit 21. The hard disk drive 27, magnetic disk drive28, and optical disk drive 30 are connected to the system bus 23 by ahard disk drive interface 32, a magnetic disk drive interface 33, and anoptical drive interface 34, respectively. The drives and theirassociated computer readable media provide non volatile storage ofcomputer readable instructions, data structures, program modules andother data for the computer 20. Although the environment describedherein employs a hard disk, a removable magnetic disk 29 and a removableoptical disk 31, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the artthat other types of computer readable media which can store data that isaccessible by a computer, such as magnetic cassettes, flash memorycards, digital video disks, Bernoulli cartridges, random access memories(RAMs), read only memories (ROMs) and the like may also be used in theoperating environment.

A number of program modules may be stored on the hard disk, magneticdisk 29, optical disk 31, ROM 24 or RAM 25, including an operatingsystem 35, one or more application programs 36, other program modules 37and program data 38. A user may enter commands and information into thecomputer 20 through input devices such as a keyboard 40 and pointingdevice 42. Other input devices (not shown) may include a microphone,joystick, game pad, satellite disk, scanner or the like. These and otherinput devices are often connected to the processing unit 21 through aserial port interface 46 that is coupled to the system bus, but may beconnected by other interfaces, such as a parallel port, game port oruniversal serial bus (USB). A display 47 or other type of display devicecan also be connected to the system bus 23 via an interface, such as avideo adapter 48. In addition to the display 47, computers typicallyinclude other peripheral output devices (not shown), such as speakersand printers. The system of FIG. 1 also includes a host adapter 55,Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) bus 56, and an external storagedevice 62 connected to the SCSI bus 56.

The computer 20 may operate in a networked environment using logicalconnections to one or more remote computers, such as a remote computer49. The remote computer 49 may be another computer, a server, a router,a network PC, a peer device or other common network node, a virtualmachine, and typically can include many or all of the elements describedabove relative to the computer 20, although only a memory storage device50 has been illustrated in FIG. 1. The logical connections depicted inFIG. 1 can include a local area network (LAN) 51 and a wide area network(WAN) 52. Such networking environments are commonplace in offices,enterprise wide computer networks, intranets and the Internet.

When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer 20 can beconnected to the LAN 51 through a network interface or adapter 53. Whenused in a WAN networking environment, the computer 20 can typicallyinclude a modem 54 or other means for establishing communications overthe wide area network 52, such as the Internet. The modem 54, which maybe internal or external, can be connected to the system bus 23 via theserial port interface 46. In a networked environment, program modulesdepicted relative to the computer 20, or portions thereof, may be storedin the remote memory storage device. It will be appreciated that thenetwork connections shown are examples and other means of establishing acommunications link between the computers may be used. Moreover, whileit is envisioned that numerous embodiments of the disclosure areparticularly well-suited for computer systems, nothing in this documentis intended to limit the disclosure to such embodiments.

Referring now to FIG. 2, another embodiment of an exemplary computingsystem 100 is depicted. Computer system 100 can include a logicalprocessor 102, e.g., an execution core. While one logical processor 102is illustrated, in other embodiments computer system 100 may havemultiple logical processors, e.g., multiple execution cores perprocessor substrate and/or multiple processor substrates that could eachhave multiple execution cores. As shown by the figure, various computerreadable storage media 110 can be interconnected by one or more systembusses which couples various system components to the logical processor102. The system buses may be any of several types of bus structuresincluding a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, and alocal bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. In exampleembodiments the computer readable storage media 110 can include forexample, random access memory (RAM) 104, storage device 106, e.g.,electromechanical hard drive, solid state hard drive, etc., firmware108, e.g., FLASH RAM or ROM, and removable storage devices 118 such as,for example, CD-ROMs, floppy disks, DVDs, FLASH drives, external storagedevices, etc. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art thatother types of computer readable storage media can be used such asmagnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, digital video disks, Bernoullicartridges.

The computer readable storage media provide non volatile storage ofprocessor executable instructions 122, data structures, program modulesand other data for the computer 100. A basic input/output system (BIOS)120, containing the basic routines that help to transfer informationbetween elements within the computer system 100, such as during startup, can be stored in firmware 108. A number of programs may be stored onfirmware 108, storage device 106, RAM 104, and/or removable storagedevices 118, and executed by logical processor 102 including anoperating system and/or application programs.

Commands and information may be received by computer 100 through inputdevices 116 which can include, but are not limited to, a keyboard andpointing device. Other input devices may include a microphone, joystick,game pad, scanner or the like. These and other input devices are oftenconnected to the logical processor 102 through a serial port interfacethat is coupled to the system bus, but may be connected by otherinterfaces, such as a parallel port, game port or universal serial bus(USB). A display or other type of display device can also be connectedto the system bus via an interface, such as a video adapter which can bepart of, or connected to, a graphics processor 112. In addition to thedisplay, computers typically include other peripheral output devices(not shown), such as speakers and printers. The exemplary system of FIG.1 can also include a host adapter, Small Computer System Interface(SCSI) bus, and an external storage device connected to the SCSI bus.

Computer system 100 may operate in a networked environment using logicalconnections to one or more remote computers, such as a remote computer.The remote computer may be another computer, a server, a router, anetwork PC, a peer device or other common network node, and typicallycan include many or all of the elements described above relative tocomputer system 100.

When used in a LAN or WAN networking environment, computer system 100can be connected to the LAN or WAN through a network interface card 114.The NIC 114, which may be internal or external, can be connected to thesystem bus. In a networked environment, program modules depictedrelative to the computer system 100, or portions thereof, may be storedin the remote memory storage device. It will be appreciated that thenetwork connections described here are exemplary and other means ofestablishing a communications link between the computers may be used.Moreover, while it is envisioned that numerous embodiments of thepresent disclosure are particularly well-suited for computerizedsystems, nothing in this document is intended to limit the disclosure tosuch embodiments.

A remote desktop system is a computer system that maintains applicationsthat can be remotely executed by client computer systems. Input isentered at a client computer system and transferred over a network(e.g., using protocols based on the International TelecommunicationsUnion (ITU) T.120 family of protocols such as Remote Desktop Protocol(RDP)) to an application on a terminal server. The application processesthe input as if the input were entered at the terminal server. Theapplication generates output in response to the received input and theoutput is transferred over the network to the client computer system.The client computer system presents the output data. Thus, input isreceived and output presented at the client computer system, whileprocessing actually occurs at the terminal server. A session can includea shell and a user interface such as a desktop, the subsystems thattrack mouse movement within the desktop, the subsystems that translate amouse click on an icon into commands that effectuate an instance of aprogram, etc. In another example embodiment the session can include anapplication. In this example while an application is rendered, a desktopenvironment may still be generated and hidden from the user. It shouldbe understood that the foregoing discussion is exemplary and that thepresently disclosed subject matter may be implemented in variousclient/server environments and not limited to a particular terminalservices product.

In most, if not all remote desktop environments, input data (entered ata client computer system) typically includes mouse and keyboard datarepresenting commands to an application and output data (generated by anapplication at the terminal server) typically includes video data fordisplay on a video output device. Many remote desktop environments alsoinclude functionality that extend to transfer other types of data.

Communications channels can be used to extend the RDP protocol byallowing plug-ins to transfer data over an RDP connection. Many suchextensions exist. Features such as printer redirection, clipboardredirection, port redirection, etc., use communications channeltechnology. Thus, in addition to input and output data, there may bemany communications channels that need to transfer data. Accordingly,there may be occasional requests to transfer output data and one or morechannel requests to transfer other data contending for available networkbandwidth.

Turning to FIG. 3, illustrated is an exemplary virtual machine serverthat can be used to generate virtual machines. In this embodiment,hypervisor microkernel 302 can be configured to control and arbitrateaccess to the hardware of computer system 300. Hypervisor microkernel302 can isolate processes in one partition from accessing anotherpartition's resources. For example, hypervisor microkernel 302 cangenerate execution environments called partitions such as childpartition 1 through child partition N (where N is an integer greaterthan 1). In this embodiment, a child partition is the basic unit ofisolation supported by hypervisor microkernel 302. Each child partitioncan be mapped to a set of hardware resources, e.g., memory, devices,logical processor cycles, etc., that is under control of the hypervisormicrokernel 302. In embodiments hypervisor microkernel 302 can be astand-alone software product, a part of an operating system, embeddedwithin firmware of the motherboard, specialized integrated circuits, ora combination thereof.

Hypervisor microkernel 302 can enforce partitioning by restricting aguest operating system's view of the memory in a physical computersystem. When hypervisor microkernel 302 instantiates a virtual machine,it can allocate pages, e.g., fixed length blocks of memory with startingand ending addresses, of system physical memory (SPM) to the virtualmachine as guest physical memory (GPM). In this embodiment, the guest'srestricted view of system memory is controlled by hypervisor microkernel302. The term guest physical memory is a shorthand way of describing apage of memory from the viewpoint of a virtual machine and the termsystem physical memory is shorthand way of describing a page of memoryfrom the viewpoint of the physical system. Thus, a page of memoryallocated to a virtual machine will have a guest physical address (theaddress used by the virtual machine) and a system physical address (theactual address of the page).

A guest operating system may virtualize guest physical memory. Virtualmemory is a management technique that allows an operating system to overcommit memory and to give an application sole access to a contiguousworking memory. In a virtualized environment, a guest operating systemcan use one or more page tables to translate virtual addresses, known asvirtual guest addresses into guest physical addresses. In this example,a memory address may have a guest virtual address, a guest physicaladdress, and a system physical address.

In the depicted example, parent partition component, which can also bealso thought of as similar to domain 0 of Xen's open source hypervisorcan include a host 304. Host 304 can be an operating system (or a set ofconfiguration utilities) and host 304 can be configured to provideresources to guest operating systems executing in the child partitions1-N by using virtualization service providers 328 (VSPs). VPSs 328,which are typically referred to as back-end drivers in the open sourcecommunity, can be used to multiplex the interfaces to the hardwareresources by way of virtualization service clients (VSCs) (typicallyreferred to as front-end drivers in the open source community orparavirtualized devices). As shown by the figures, virtualizationservice clients execute within the context of guest operating systems.However, these drivers are different than the rest of the drivers in theguest in that they may be supplied with a hypervisor, not with a guest.In an exemplary embodiment the path used to by virtualization serviceproviders 328 to communicate with virtualization service clients 316 and318 can be thought of as the virtualization path.

As shown by the figure, emulators 334, e.g., virtualized IDE devices,virtualized video adaptors, virtualized NICs, etc., can be configured torun within host 304 and are attached to resources available to guestoperating systems 320 and 322. For example, when a guest OS touches amemory location mapped to where a register of a device would be ormemory mapped to a device, microkernel hypervisor 302 can intercept therequest and pass the values the guest attempted to write to anassociated emulator. The resources in this example can be thought of aswhere a virtual device is located. The use of emulators in this way canbe considered the emulation path. The emulation path is inefficientcompared to the virtualized path because it requires more CPU resourcesto emulate device than it does to pass messages between VSPs and VSCs.For example, the hundreds of actions on memory mapped to registersrequired in order to write a value to disk via the emulation path may bereduced to a single message passed from a VSC to a VSP in thevirtualization path.

Each child partition can include one or more virtual processors (330 and332) that guest operating systems (320 and 322) can manage and schedulethreads to execute thereon. Generally, the virtual processors areexecutable instructions and associated state information that provide arepresentation of a physical processor with a specific architecture. Forexample, one virtual machine may have a virtual processor havingcharacteristics of an Intel x86 processor, whereas another virtualprocessor may have the characteristics of a PowerPC processor. Thevirtual processors in this example can be mapped to logical processorsof the computer system such that the instructions that effectuate thevirtual processors will be backed by logical processors. Thus, in anembodiment including multiple logical processors, virtual processors canbe simultaneously executed by logical processors while, for example,other logical processor execute hypervisor instructions. The combinationof virtual processors and memory in a partition can be considered avirtual machine.

Guest operating systems (320 and 322) can be any operating system suchas, for example, operating systems from Microsoft®, Apple®, the opensource community, etc. The guest operating systems can includeuser/kernel modes of operation and can have kernels that can includeschedulers, memory managers, etc. Generally speaking, kernel mode caninclude an execution mode in a logical processor that grants access toat least privileged processor instructions. Each guest operating systemcan have associated file systems that can have applications storedthereon such as terminal servers, e-commerce servers, email servers,etc., and the guest operating systems themselves. The guest operatingsystems can schedule threads to execute on the virtual processors andinstances of such applications can be effectuated.

Referring now to FIG. 4, illustrated is a virtual machine server basedon an alternative architecture. FIG. 4 depicts similar components tothose of FIG. 3; however, in this example embodiment hypervisor 402 caninclude a microkernel component and components similar to those in host304 of FIG. 3 such as the virtualization service providers 328 anddevice drivers 324, while management operating system 404 may contain,for example, configuration utilities used to configure hypervisor 402.In this architecture, hypervisor 402 can perform the same or similarfunctions as hypervisor microkernel 302 of FIG. 3; however, in thisarchitecture hypervisor 404 can be configured to provide resources toguest operating systems executing in the child partitions. Hypervisor402 of FIG. 4 can be a stand alone software product, a part of anoperating system, embedded within firmware of the motherboard or aportion of hypervisor 402 can be effectuated by specialized integratedcircuits.

Turning now to FIG. 5, illustrated is a high-level block diagram ofvirtual desktop server 500. In an embodiment, virtual desktop server 500can be configured to deploy virtual desktop sessions (VDS) to clients,e.g., mobile devices such as smart phones, computer systems havingcomponents similar to those illustrated in FIG. 1, etc. Briefly, virtualdesktop technology allows a user to remotely interact with a guestoperating system running in a virtual machine. Unlike a remote desktopsession, in a virtual desktop session only one user is logged into aguest operating system and can have total control of it, e.g., the usercan run as an administrator and can have full rights on the guest. Inthe illustrated example, virtual desktop server 500 can have componentssimilar to computer system 300 or 400 of FIG. 3 or FIG. 4. In theillustrated example, virtualization platform 502 is a logicalabstraction of virtualization infrastructure components described abovein FIG. 3 and FIG. 4. The functionality described in the followingsections as “within” virtualization platform 502 can be implemented inone or more of the elements depicted in FIG. 3 or FIG. 4. For example,virtual desktop manager 530 could be implemented in a host 304 of FIG.3. More specifically, virtual desktop manager 530 could be implementedin a host operating system running in the parent partition.

Starting a virtual desktop session requires instantiation of a guestoperating system within a virtual machine. In an exemplary embodiment,virtual desktop manager 530, e.g., a module of processor executableinstructions, can start up virtual machine 514 (along with guestoperating system 528) in response to a request. Virtual desktop manager530 can execute on a logical processor and instruct virtualizationplatform 502, e.g., microkernel hypervisor 202, to allocate memory for apartition. Virtualization platform 502 can execute and set virtualdevices up within virtual machine 514 and load a boot loader programinto virtual machine memory. The boot loader program can execute on avirtual processor and load guest operating system 528. For example,session manager 508 can be loaded, which can instantiate environmentsubsystems such as runtime subsystem 526 that can include a kernel modepart such as operating system core 510. For example, the environmentsubsystems in an embodiment can be configured to expose a subset ofservices to application programs and provide an access point to kernel520. When guest operating system 528 is loaded, the boot loader programcan exit and turn control of the virtual machine over to guest operatingsystem 528. Guest operating system 528 can execute the various modulesillustrated in FIG. 5 and configure itself to host a virtual desktopsession. For example, guest operating system 528 can include registryvalues that cause remote presentation engine 506 and/or configurationservice 534 to start upon boot.

A virtual desktop session can start when guest operating system 528receives a connection request over a network from a client. A connectionrequest can first be handled by remote presentation engine 506. Theremote presentation engine 506 can be configured to listen forconnection messages and forward them to session manager 508. Asillustrated by FIG. 3, when sessions are generated the remotepresentation engine 506 can run a protocol stack instances for thesession. Generally, the protocol stack instance can be configured toroute user interface output to an associated client and route user inputreceived from the associated client to operating system core 510.Briefly, operating system core 510 can be configured to manage screenoutput; collect input from keyboards, mice, and other devices.

A user credential, e.g., a username/password combination, can bereceived by remote presentation engine 506 and passed to session manager508. Session manager 508 can pass the credential to a logon procedure,which can route the credential to authentication engine 524 forverification. Authentication engine 524 can generate a system token,which can be used whenever a user attempts to execute a process todetermine whether the user has the security credentials to run theprocess or thread. For example, when a process or thread attempts togain access, e.g., open, close, delete, and/or modify an object, e.g., afile, setting, or an application, the thread or process can beauthenticated by security subsystem 522. Security subsystem 522 cancheck the system token against an access control list associated withthe object and determine whether the thread has permission based on acomparison of information in the system token and the access controllist. If security subsystem 522 determines that the thread is authorizedthen the thread can be allowed to access the object.

Continuing with the description of FIG. 5, in an embodiment theoperating system core 510 can include a graphics display interface 516(GDI) and input subsystem 512. Input subsystem 512 in an exampleembodiment can be configured to receive user input from a client via theprotocol stack instance for the virtual desktop session and send theinput to operating system core 510. The user input can in someembodiments include signals indicative of absolute and/or relative mousemovement commands, mouse coordinates, mouse clicks, keyboard signals,joystick movement signals, etc. User input, for example, a mousedouble-click on an icon, can be received by the operating system core510 and the input subsystem 512 can be configured to determine that anicon is located at the coordinates associated with the double-click.Input subsystem 512 can then be configured to send a notification toruntime subsystem 526 that can execute a process for the applicationassociated with the icon.

Draw commands can be received from applications and/or a desktop andprocessed by GDI 516. GDI 516 in general can include a process that cangenerate graphical object draw commands. GDI 516 in this exampleembodiment can be configured to pass the commands to remote displaysubsystem 518 that can instantiate a display driver for the session. Inan example embodiment remote display subsystem 518 can be configured toinclude virtual display driver(s) that can be configured to receive thedraw commands and send them to the client.

Also shown in FIG. 5 is a configuration service 534. In an exemplaryembodiment, configuration service 534 can be used to setup guestoperating system 528 to conduct virtual desktop sessions prior toconnection by a client. For example, configuration service 534 can runwithin guest operating system 528 and be executed when guest operatingsystem 528 boots. Since certain configuration settings requireadministrative privileges, configuration service 534 can be configuredto run as a process with system wide privileges. Some of the exemplaryactions configuration service 534 can take include, but are not limitedto, actions that add an account identifier for the user to a list ofadministrative users for guest operating system 528, add the accountidentifier to a list of authorized virtual desktop users, set registryvalues, open guest operating system firewalls, and open the port thatremote presentation engine 506 listens for connections on. Configurationservice 534 is described in more detail in the following paragraphs.

In an exemplary embodiment, a communication channel can be establishedbetween virtualization platform 502 and guest operating system 528 inorder to configure and control guest operating system 528. Since aremote user can have complete control of virtual machine 514, securityneeds to be in place to ensure that any channel used to configure andcontrol guest operating system 528 can not also be used to attackvirtualization platform 502 or other computer systems connected to aninternal network. Traditionally, a networked communication channel isused to setup and control guest operating system 528. Network channels,however are difficult to deploy when guest operating system 528 is notin the same network domain as virtualization platform 502 andvirtualization platform 502 is configured to deny incoming connectionrequests from outside the domain.

In an exemplary embodiment, inter-partition communication channel 504can be used to communicate with configuration server 534 in order toconfigure and/or manage the virtual desktop session. Inter-partitioncommunication channel 504 can be configured to be implicitly trusted byvirtual machine 514 and not trusted by virtualization platform 502. Inthis example, information, e.g., data and/or commands can be easilyrouted to guest operating system 528 without any need to verify theinformation. On the other hand, data received from virtual machine 514can be verified and authenticated before virtualization platform 502takes an action. Moreover, because inter-partition communication channel504 does not use networking, guest operating system 528 can be kept offthe internal network.

Inter-partition communication channel 504 can be implicitly trusted byvirtual machine 514, i.e., information received via the channel isinherently authenticated/validated, because only virtualization platform502 can create inter-partition communication channel 504. For example,in an embodiment inter-partition communication channel 504 can beimplemented at least in part as a region of memory shared betweenvirtual machine 514 and virtualization platform 502. Virtualizationplatform 502 can cause a data structure indicative of a ring buffer orthe like to be created in region of shared memory that can be used as afull-duplex communication channel between virtualization platform 502and virtual machine 514. In an exemplary embodiment, the inter-partitioncommunication channel can include features described in U.S. Pat. No.7,689,800 entitled “Partition bus,” the contents of which are hereinincorporated by reference in its entirety.

Virtualization platform 502 can write information to inter-partitioncommunication channel 504 that can be read by virtual machine 514. In anexemplary embodiment, inter-partition communication channel 504 can bemessage based. That is, virtualization platform 502 and virtual machine514 can be configured to write packets of data to inter-partitioncommunication channel 504. In the same, or another exemplary embodiment,inter-partition communication channel 504 can be event driven. In thisconfiguration, when information is written to the channel, the receivercan be instructed to read the information from inter-partitioncommunication channel 504 by for example, hypervisor 302 of FIG. 3.

Turning now to FIG. 6, illustrated is a high-level block diagram of adatacenter including virtual desktop server 500, virtual desktop server602, licensing server 604, broker server 608, gateway 612, and client614. The datacenter can be configured to deploy virtual desktop sessionsto clients. In the illustrated example, virtualization platform 502,virtual desktop server 602, licensing server 604, broker server 608, andgateway 612 can be part of an intranet and the user credentials used tolog into these computers can be members of the same domain, i.e., theinfrastructure domain 520. Infrastructure domain 520 is shown in dashedlines cutting virtual desktop server 500 in half to illustrate that inan exemplary embodiment, virtual machine 514 can be part of a differentdomain or part of no domain.

The datacenter can include an internal network coupling a plurality ofvirtual desktop servers (602 and 500), which can include componentssimilar to those illustrated by FIG. 3 or 4, to broker server 608 andlicensing server 604. As one of skill in the art can appreciate, whiletwo virtual desktop servers are shown the datacenter can have many more.Also, while virtual desktop server 500 is illustrated running onevirtual machine (514), each virtual desktop server can simultaneouslyhost many virtual machines. Or put another way, the datacenter can haveM (where M is an integer greater than 1) virtual desktop servers andeach of the M virtualization hosts can host N (where N is also aninteger greater than 1) virtual machines.

Broker server 608 can act as an interface to the intranet for client614. Briefly, broker server 608 can include components similar to thecomponents described with respect to FIG. 2. Broker server 608 can havea network adapter that interfaces it to a public network, such as theInternet, and another network adapter that interfaces it to the internalnetwork, i.e., the intranet. In this example, broker server 608 can actas a gateway for the internal network, thereby allowing virtual desktopservers and licensing server 604 to be kept off the public network.

When user of client 614 wants a virtual desktop session, he or she canclick on an icon and client 614 can send one or more packets ofinformation to broker server 608. Broker server 608 can include a moduleof software instructions that upon execution cause a logical processorto select a suitable virtualization host to instantiate a virtualmachine to host the virtual desktop session. A user credential, e.g., ausername and password combination, can be collected and broker server608 can check session database 610 to determine whether the datacenterincludes any disconnected virtual desktop sessions associated with theuser credential such as a username/password combination. If sessiondatabase 610 includes a disconnected virtual desktop session associatedwith the user credential, broker server 608 can send a signal to thevirtualization host that has the disconnected session and instruct it toexecute the virtual machine. If session database 610 does not haveinformation indicative of a disconnected session for the user, brokerserver 608 can select a suitable virtual desktop server, e.g., one thathas the resources available to instantiate a virtual machine to host avirtual desktop session.

Virtualization platform 502 can instantiate virtual machine 514 andexecute guest operating system 528 on a virtual processor. Referringback to FIG. 5, guest operating system 528 can run remote presentationengine 506; return an internet protocol (IP) address of virtual NIC 616to broker server 608; and await a connection from client 614. Brokerserver 608 can return the IP address of virtual NIC 616 to client 614 ina packet of information that causes a logical processor of client 614 toredirect client to the IP address virtual machine 514. Gateway 612 canreceive the connection request and forward it to virtual NIC 616.

In an least one exemplary embodiment, session manager 508 can beconfigured to check to see if the client 614 is associated with a validlicense before starting the virtual desktop session. Remote presentationengine 506 can receive a license from client 614 (or informationassociated with a license) and send the information to virtualizationplatform 502, which can send the license (or the information associatedwith the license) to licensing server 604. Licensing server 604 caninclude license validation engine 606, which can be configured todetermine whether a license associated with client 614 is valid. If thelicense is valid, license validation engine 606 can send a signal backvirtual desktop server 500 and a virtual desktop session can be started.At this point, remote presentation engine 506 can stream one or morepackets of information indicative of a graphical user interface forguest operating system 528 to client 614 and receive one or more packetsof information indicative of user input from client 614.

In an exemplary embodiment, when virtualization platform 502 receives arequest from broker server 608 to instantiate a virtual machine, virtualdesktop manager 530 can execute and send commands and/or information viainter-partition communication channel 504 to virtual machine 514 tocause guest operating system 528 to be configured to conduct a virtualdesktop session. Configuration service 534 can receive the commandsand/or information and configure guest operating system 528 accordingly.For example, virtual desktop manager 530 can send the identity of theuser attempting to connect, desired settings for a firewall protectingguest operating system 528, registry values, a list of applications theuser is allowed to operate, commands to enable virtual desktop sessionsand to add the identity of the user to a list of authorized virtualdesktop users, etc. Configuration service 534 can execute on a virtualprocessor and change appropriate settings.

Once the virtual desktop session is running, virtual desktop manager 530can manage a running virtual desktop session via inter-partitioncommunication channel 504. For example, virtual desktop manager 530 canissue commands to virtual machine 514 such as commands that cause theguest operating system 528 to shut down, disconnect the user, reset theguest operating system 528, etc. In the same, or another embodiment,virtual desktop manager 530 can manage the virtual desktop sessionreceive state information for virtual machine 514, status informationfrom remote presentation engine 506, and/or send commands to control thevirtual desktop session to configuration service 534. For example,virtual desktop manager 530 can receive state information for virtualmachine 514 that indicates whether virtual machine 514 is running,paused, ready, booting, as well as a list of IP addresses that can besent to the client. In addition, virtual desktop manager 530 can receivestatus information for guest operating system 528 such as the identityof the user that is logged in for the virtual desktop session, andcommunicate some or all of this information to broker server 608.

FIG. 7 depicts an example system where a client has a workspace thatcomprises remote sessions with a plurality of servers.

The computers depicted in FIG. 7 may be similar to the computer depictedin FIG. 1. In FIG. 7, a client 702 communicates with a deployment 700,which comprises authentication server 704, connection broker 706,gateway 708, remote application server farm 714 (which in turn comprisestwo homogenously configured servers, remote application servers 716a-b), and VM server farm 710 (which in turn comprises two homogenouslyconfigured VMs, VMs 712 a-b).

Client 702 has a workspace that comprises multiple remote resourcesserved by one or more of remote application servers 716 and VMs 712.Client 702 may log into its workspace through an authentication server704. Once authenticated, the client's request to connect to itsworkspace is transmitted from authentication server 704 to connectionbroker 706. Connection broker 706 is configured to broker connectionsbetween client 702 and the application servers 716 and VMs 712 that willserve remote resources with client 702, and to effectuate this,connection broker 706 is configured to communicate with applicationservers 716 and VMs 712 to determine what resources they are currentlyserving (including disconnected remote resources for a user of client702).

Client 702 may have a workspace that comprises multiple remoteresources—a remote resource comprising a remote application from remoteapplication server 716 a, and a remote resource that comprises a VM fromVM 712 a. As depicted, client 702 does not have a remote resource withremote application server 716 b or VM 712 b. These may each servedifferent applications or desktops, versions of an application, or otherpermutations. For instance, remote application server 716 a may beserving client 702 with a remoted word processor application, and VM 712may be serving client 702 with a remote desktop.

As can be seen through this depiction, when a user wishes to reconnectback to his or her workspace, he may desire to reconnect to the remoteresources of both remote application server 716 a and VM 712 a throughone command, rather than through one command performed three times. Theuser may perform this reconnect operation from client 702, or fromanother client computer (such as where client 702 is the user's computerat work, and the user wishes to reconnect from a computer at home duringthe weekend).

FIG. 8 depicts an example an example communication flow for a clientreconnecting to a remote resource of a workspace.

FIG. 8 depicts an example communication flow in a system where a clientreconnects a workspace that comprises remote sessions with a pluralityof servers. This communication flow may be effectuated in a system, suchas the computer system depicted in FIG. 7. To wit, remote deployment800, client 802, authentication server 804, connection broker 806,gateway 808, VM farm 810 and VM 812 a of FIG. 8 may be similar to remotedeployment 700, client 702, authentication server 704, connection broker706, gateway 708, VM farm 710 and VM 712 a, respectively, of FIG. 7.

A user of client 802 has previously had a workspace to remote serverfarm 800 that involved accessing a remote resource from VM 812 a, andthis workspace is now disconnected. Before client 802 even attempts toreconnect to the deployment 800, authentication server 804 publishes adocument (via communication (1)) to client 802 identifying informationabout the deployment 800 that client 802 may use to access the remoteresources of the deployment 800. Client 802 later reconnects by sendingcommunication (2) to authentication server 804. Authentication server804 validates credentials of the user and/or client (such as a login andpassword). Where the credentials are validated, authentication server804 communicates with connection broker 806 to determine which remoteresources (here, VM 812 a) client 802 is to reconnect to whenreconnecting its workspace. Authentication server 804 makes thisdetermination by sending communication (3) to connection broker 806,and, in response, receiving back in communication (4) a list of serverfarms (here, VM farm 810) for client 802 to reconnect to. Thisinformation indicated in communication (4) is passed by authenticationserver 804 to client 802 in communication (5).

When client 802 has the list of servers to reconnect to fromauthentication server 804, client 802 reestablishes a communication witheach of those server farms. As depicted in FIG. 8, that server farm isVM farm 810. Client 802 communicates (6) with gateway 808 to access theremote resources of these server farms. Gateway 808 processescommunication (6), and in turn communicates (7) with connection broker806 to convey similar information. Connection broker 806 takes theidentification of the server farm from communication (7) and from it,identifies the machine (VM 812 a) within the farm 810 that has thatdisconnected remote resource. Connection broker 806 sends communication(8) to VM 812 a, instructing VM 812 a to reconnect the remote resourceto client 802. VM 812 a reconnects with client 802 by sending acommunication (9) indicative of the same to gateway 808, which, in turnsends a communication (10) indicative of the same to client 802.

It may be appreciated that this is a simplified diagram to emphasize thepresent invention, and that more or fewer server farms may be presentand/or reconnected to, and that the communications passed may be moreinvolved (for instance, it is shown that communications (9) and (10)establish a reconnection between VM 812 a and client 802, where this mayalso involve communications that are send from client 802 throughgateway 808 and to VM 812 a).

All of these variations for implementing the above mentioned virtualmachines are just exemplary implementations, and nothing herein shouldbe interpreted as limiting the disclosure to any particularvirtualization aspect.

Inherited Product Activation

Software antipiracy solutions often operate by binding the softwarelicense to the individual computer hardware by creating a hardware ID orthumbprint for the computer. Virtualization makes these solutionsunreliable since the hardware is virtualized. The thumbprint can beedited or duplicated, and thus the thumbprint can be exploited to copyor steal the software. For example, a hardware profile snapshot used toactivate a software application can be copied and used to illegallyauthorize additional copies. Furthermore, typical server virtualizationscenarios move the virtual machine from one host to another as needed.This can break software licensing solutions that bind to a hardwarethumbprint.

Methods and systems are disclosed herein in which an inheritedactivation mechanism can be used to open a secure communication pathfrom the host operating system (OS) to the guest OS. The license stateof the software on the host may be passed through this channel, andsoftware installed in the guest may use this information to inform itsown product activation process. The virtualized (guest) software maythen activate without any outside communication when the licenserequirements for the host are met. Such a mechanism may be used toexchange activation information in a trusted manner between endpoints ina virtualized environment.

Activation may generally refer to technology that alters thefunctionality of software based on proof of purchase or some other eventor action. In an embodiment, an inherited activation mechanism may opena secure communication path from the host OS to one or more virtualmachines. Licensing information including SKU, license state and otherdata for software installed on the host may be passed through thischannel, and the guest may use this data to inform its own productactivation process. For example, when allowed by the installed licenses,the OS installed in a guest may activate without any outsidecommunication or user interaction when it receives proof that the hostOS has been activated. Furthermore, by inheriting the activation stateof the host OS, the guest OS can remain activated even when moved fromhost to host, provided the host systems are properly activated.

Such an inherited activation mechanism may provide benefits, forexample, to hosting providers and cloud computing vendors. With aninherited activation mechanism, physical host computers can use anylocal infrastructure or other method for product activation. Virtualguests running on these hosts may inherit the activation data, but willnot need any visibility or access to the activation infrastructure usedby the hosts. Sensitive data such as product keys need not be shared,and customer assets can be protected.

In one embodiment, the host OS may be configured to support an inheritedactivation mechanism. The host OS may gather or maintain license datafor the OS itself and for any solution-aware software. This data may besecured by the host OS and made available to running guest environmentsvia a virtualization engine. This communication may be implemented as aquery from the guest and response from the host. However, the inheritedactivation mechanism is not limited to this communication model. Theinherited activation mechanism may also support the license data beingpushed (unrequested) from the host to the guest, the data beingpresented as a readable table or other data store for ad hoc access andother communication models. The host may also use the inheritedactivation communications channel to pass policy information to thevirtual machine.

The inherited activation mechanism is not limited to activating softwareapplications in virtual machines. The mechanism may be used generally toactivate virtual instances of a software application regardless ofwhether the application is executing in the context of a guest virtualmachine partition. For example, a web server may host virtualizedsessions of Application X. Application X may also be installed locallyand properly activated. The virtualized instances of Application X willremain activated when they are spawned by inheriting the license stateof Application X on the host.

While the data being communicated can be secured to be trustworthy, theinherited activation mechanism does not require a specific validation orencryption methodology. The communication path for exchanging theactivation information can use secured methodologies such as PKI or aone way hash, but any mechanism may be employed so long as theactivation information is sufficiently trustworthy for the needs of thesoftware publisher. In some embodiments, the communication path may notemploy a security mechanism if the application publisher does notrequire one. The security of the communication path may be a designdecision made based on the needs of the application and the applicationpublisher.

As described above, the virtualization engine is the software on top ofthe host OS in which the virtual environment runs. In one embodiment,the virtual engine may provide a secure channel for communicationbetween the host OS and any running guest environments. Within the guestenvironment, the guest OS may be configured to support the inheritedactivation functionality of the virtualization engine. This guest OS maybe configured to allow access to the activation information, via thevirtualization engine, to any software which supports inheritedactivation. This can include the OS itself as well as otherapplications.

For software on the host that supports inherited activation, includingthe OS and other applications, license specific data may be collected.The publisher of the software may determine which data is collected, howthe data is stored and secured, and how the data is received andevaluated on the guest.

Examples of data that can be collected may include:

Software Identifiers (Model or SKU ID, Application ID, etc.)

Serial numbers

Edition labels

License state

Values from the host license such as policies, restrictions, licenses,etc.

Data from active guests may be collected such as

-   -   Installed software data (SKU data, license state, etc.)    -   Number of guests        A stock-keeping unit (SKU) is a unique identifier for any        distinct product or service that can be tracked.

In typical software activation scenarios, information may be collectedand compared to rule sets embedded in XrML licenses or other trusteddocuments. These rule sets establish conditions that prove whether ornot the software is properly licensed. Traditionally, these conditionscan include but are not limited to product keys, connection to trustedhosts, possession of secret information, physical connection to cryptodevices, etc. The inherited activation mechanism may add to the scope ofthese rules by introducing the requirement that the system is runninginside a virtual machine (guest) and that specific conditions exist thatsatisfy the licensing requirements. When these conditions are met, thesoftware may activate.

Events such as software start, system boot, login events, or a timer canall start the process. To prevent theft, activation may be frequentlyrenewed. The frequency, duration, and trigger for any activation orreactivation may be determined by the software publisher.

In one embodiment, the activation information may include a shelf lifefor the inherited activation. For example, the information may include atime and date stamp that establishes an expiration for the activation.By using such an expiration, an unauthorized copy of the activationinformation will have limited utility because of the time limitedactivation. Virtual machines using a trusted inherited activation cancontinue to receive updated shelf life information through the securedchannel and thus continue to use the activated software as long as it isauthorized to do so.

In an embodiment, the host may use the exchanged information for assetmanagement. For example, the host can collect SKU data from the virtualmachines and use the information to track the number of users of anapplication or service. This information may be used to manage and limitthe overall number of activations.

In one illustrative example of an inherited activation mechanismdepicted in FIG. 9, a virtual machine host 900 may implement a VirtualService Provider (VSP) 925 and a worker process 935 for each virtualmachine guest instance. The VSP 925 may offer a connection to thevirtual machine guest upon start up by leveraging the VMBusinfrastructure 920. The VMBus infrastructure 920 may expose an API setto allow communication between the root partition and the virtualmachine guest. The host VSP 925 may wait for a virtual machine guestclient 910 to connect and, upon connection, use the VMbus pipe/handle920 to write and read data to and from the virtual machine guest 910.The VSP 925 does not interpret the secure data read from the virtualmachine guest 910 but instead relays this data to the licensingapplication 940 running on the host. Based on the information read fromthe virtual machine guest 910 as well as the licensing state on the hostmachine, a host licensing service creates a secure licensing statepackage which is returned to the VSP 925. The VSP 925 writes this databack to the virtual machine guest 910 through the VMBus pipe 920.

The guest virtual component of an inherited activation mechanism may behosted inside the instance of the licensing application on the virtualmachine guest. The client side component uses the VMBus infrastructureto enumerate connections from the host that matches a certain criteriawhich allows it to find and open a connection to the host VSP. Thisconnection is exposed to the application in the guest virtual machine asa synthetic device. By using the APIs, data can be read and written fromand to the host via the synthetic device to exchange licensing relatedinformation. The license application running on the guest virtualmachine uses the licensing state package which it obtains indirectly viathe host VSP to determine if the guest virtual machine is properlylicensed.

In one embodiment, the inherited activation mechanism can be nestedwithin a virtual machine architecture. For example, a host virtualmachine may send inherited activation information to a guest virtualmachine. The guest virtual machine may in turn spawn one or moreadditional virtual machines, each of which in turn may inherit theactivation information, and so on. In other embodiments, the inheritedactivation mechanism may be configured to operate only with one host sothat nesting of the activation information is not permitted.

The principles disclosed herein are not limited to the embodimentsdescribed above. The activation that is inherited need not be limited toa guest virtual machine. The inherited activation be used to activate asecond virtualized instance of an activated product.

FIG. 10 depicts an exemplary operational procedure for activating asoftware product in a virtualized computing environment includingoperations 1000, 1002, 1004, and 1006. Referring to FIG. 10, operation1000 begins the operational procedure and operation 1002 illustratesactivating a first instance of the software product on a first parentpartition in the virtualized computing environment, wherein saidactivating is based on information derived at least in part on aconfiguration of said first parent partition. Operation 1004 illustratescapturing said information. Operation 1006 illustrates using saidinformation to activate a second instance of said software product.

FIG. 11 depicts an exemplary system and operational procedure foractivating a software product in a virtualized computing environment.Referring to FIG. 11, system 1100 comprises a processor 1110 and memory1120. Memory 1120 further comprises computer instructions configured toactivate a software product in a virtualized computing environment.Block 1122 illustrates activating a first instance of the softwareproduct on a host virtual machine. Block 1124 illustrates generatinginformation indicating that the software product is activated on thehost virtual machine. Block 1126 illustrates using said information toactivate a second instance of said software product.

Any of the above mentioned aspects can be implemented in methods,systems, computer readable media, or any type of manufacture. Forexample, a computer readable storage medium can store thereon computerexecutable instructions for activating a software product in avirtualized computing environment. Such media can comprise a firstsubset of instructions for activating a first software product on afirst parent partition in the virtualized computing environment, whereinsaid activating is based on information derived at least in part on aconfiguration of said first parent partition; a second subset ofinstructions for capturing said information; and a third subset ofinstructions for using said information to activate a second softwareproduct in a child partition of the first parent partition. It will beappreciated by those skilled in the art that additional sets ofinstructions can be used to capture the various other aspects disclosedherein, and that the presently disclosed subsets of instructions canvary in detail per the present disclosure.

The foregoing detailed description has set forth various embodiments ofthe systems and/or processes via examples and/or operational diagrams.Insofar as such block diagrams, and/or examples contain one or morefunctions and/or operations, it will be understood by those within theart that each function and/or operation within such block diagrams, orexamples can be implemented, individually and/or collectively, by a widerange of hardware, software, firmware, or virtually any combinationthereof.

It should be understood that the various techniques described herein maybe implemented in connection with hardware or software or, whereappropriate, with a combination of both. Thus, the methods and apparatusof the disclosure, or certain aspects or portions thereof, may take theform of program code (i.e., instructions) embodied in tangible media,such as floppy diskettes, CD-ROMs, hard drives, or any othermachine-readable storage medium wherein, when the program code is loadedinto and executed by a machine, such as a computer, the machine becomesan apparatus for practicing the disclosure. In the case of program codeexecution on programmable computers, the computing device generallyincludes a processor, a storage medium readable by the processor(including volatile and non-volatile memory and/or storage elements), atleast one input device, and at least one output device. One or moreprograms that may implement or utilize the processes described inconnection with the disclosure, e.g., through the use of an applicationprogramming interface (API), reusable controls, or the like. Suchprograms are preferably implemented in a high level procedural or objectoriented programming language to communicate with a computer system.However, the program(s) can be implemented in assembly or machinelanguage, if desired. In any case, the language may be a compiled orinterpreted language, and combined with hardware implementations.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described withreference to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood bythose skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may bemade without departing from the scope of the present invention as setforth in the following claims. Furthermore, although elements of theinvention may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural iscontemplated unless limitation to the singular is explicitly stated.

What is claimed:
 1. A method for activating a software application in avirtualized computing environment, the method comprising: activating afirst instance of the software application on a first parent partitionin the virtualized computing environment, wherein said activatingcomprises complying with a licensing mechanism for said softwareapplication; establishing a secure communication channel between thefirst parent partition and a child partition; sending, to the childpartition via the secure communication channel, information pertainingto said activating and said licensing mechanism; using said informationto activate a second instance of said software application in the childpartition, wherein the information indicates a predetermined expirationperiod for activation of the second instance; and sending, to the childpartition via the secure communication channel, updated expirationinformation that allows for continued activation of the second instancebeyond the predetermined expiration period.
 2. The method of claim 1,further comprising sending said information to said child partition,wherein the information is trusted by said child partition.
 3. Themethod of claim 2, further comprising receiving, from the childpartition, a request to activate the second instance, wherein saidsending is in response to receiving the request.
 4. The method of claim1, wherein said second instance is a virtualized instance.
 5. The methodof claim 1, further comprising migrating said child partition to asecond parent partition in which said software application is activated,wherein said second instance remains activated in said child partitionafter said migrating.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprisingdeactivating said second instance when said child partition is migratedto a second parent partition in which said software application is notactivated.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising using saidinformation to activate multiple instances of said software application.8. The method of claim 7, further comprising tracking a number ofactivated instances of said software application and limiting the numberof activated instances.
 9. A system for activating a softwareapplication in a virtualized computing environment, comprising: aprocessor; and a memory communicatively coupled to the processor, thememory bearing processor-executable instructions that, when executed onthe processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:activating a first instance of the software application on a hostvirtual machine, said activating comprising compliance with a licensingmechanism for said software application; establishing a securecommunication channel between the host virtual machine and a guestvirtual machine; sending, to the guest virtual machine via the securecommunication channel, information pertaining to said activating andsaid licensing mechanism; using said information to activate a secondinstance of said software application in the guest virtual machine,wherein the information is indicative of a predetermined expirationperiod for activation of the second instance; and sending, to the childpartition via the secure communication channel, updated expirationinformation that allows for continued activation of the second instancebeyond the predetermined expiration period.
 10. The system of claim 9,further comprising sending said information to said guest virtualmachine, wherein the information is trusted by said guest virtualmachine.
 11. The system of claim 9, wherein said second instance isactivated up to a predetermined expiration time after which the secondinstance is deactivated.
 12. A computer readable storage mediumexcluding transitory signals, the medium storing thereon computerexecutable instructions for activating a software product in avirtualized computing environment, the medium comprising instructionsfor: activating a first software application on a first parent partitionin the virtualized computing environment, wherein said activatingcomprises compliance with a licensing mechanism for said first softwareapplication; establishing a secure communication channel between thefirst parent partition and a child partition; sending, from the firstparent partition to the child partition via the secure communicationchannel, information pertaining to said activating and said licensingmechanism; using said information to activate a second softwareapplication in the child partition, wherein the information isindicative of a predetermined expiration period for activation of thesecond software application; and sending, to the child partition via thesecure communication channel, updated expiration information that allowsfor continued activation of the second software application beyond thepredetermined expiration period.
 13. The computer readable storagemedium of claim 12, wherein the first software application and thesecond software application are the same product.